Kool puniehtyks stia drib, stia enalp on sti namrepus

Today we only have 1 National Park place to hit, otherwise it is a pure traveling day and grab some USA and BBQ places along the way. Last night (as I do every night, actually right around 4am) I log onto Priceline.com and snag a motel for our next night stop. This generally works out, I am sure I could get a cheaper price on the hotel if I wanted to hone my skills, but if I save somewhere between 30 and 40% I am happy. What Priceline does for us (more for MeAsWe) get us accommodations that are much nicer than if I would just get a place. Not that we don't get some flea bags, but in general they are pretty nice. Whats with the title, no my keyboard didn't go wild. The solution is at the bottom of the post.

Rolling out of Rolla  this sign was right outside our motel.

Did some USA pic taking

We pulled into Steelville, MO and they had a theme of canoes all over the place. It is reminiscent of Bennington, VT with their moose's. Called the Floating Capital of the World (their name, not mine) so they put up all these canoes I guess

In Cuba, MO grabbed this restore Phillips 66 gas station.

Amelia Earhart visited Cuba, so they painted a mural in her honor. They are more of these around Cuba.

Some views for the road

Just outside of Polosi MO

No signs of Eddie or Eva.

We hit St Genevieve, MO right around 230pm. St Genevieve is oldest permanent European settlement in Missouri. Guess there were Indians here before that. St Genevieve was here before Jefferson bought the place from the French on a distressed sale.

This is where we crossed the Mississippi

Our only scheduled stop today is Fort Kaskaskia to nab Illinois for the National Park Tour. For those looking for the stamp, it is in the office attached to the equipment barn as you get to the top of the hill from the entrance. It is seriously outdated for the year part of the stamp.

The Mississippi

Traveling along the Great River Rd

Just couldn't resist stopping here for another stamp. Ink comes in all different colors and sizes ya know.

In Jonesboro we stopped at Dixie's BBQ. Now nothing really significant about this place other than I needed a receipt for the 15 15 15 side dish for Smoke Chasing. So I get to talking with the girl at the counter, explaining what I want and there still was a puzzled look on her face. To make things simple, I ordered a pulled pork sandwich, but told her I just wanted the receipt and she could keep the sandwich. Again that puzzled look came on her face. I exited the joint with my receipt, some $5 or $6 short and I didn't even end up using the receipt. Makes me think of Nicholson in 5 Easy Pieces.

Reminds me of Newt during the Republican Debates

Not to neglect the Tour of Honor for the Wounded Warrior Project. King Neptune was a Navy mascot that helped raise 19,000,000 for the building of the battleship Illinois. That would be around 250,000,000 in today's bucks.

We finally pull into Metropolis, IL the home to Superman. This was an official declaration by the Illinois State legislature. Metropolis has an industry which converts uranium for use in nuclear power plants. Maybe it is kryptonite in disguise.

Our nighttime accommodations. This is actually a river boat, at least where the casino is.

Kool puniethyks, stia drib, stia enalp, on, sti namrepus, comes from 1969,  Room 339, Washington Hall, Ohio University during one of those memorable late nights.  It is Look up in the Sky, It's a bird, It's a plane, no, It's Superman, backwards. Hence the title.